Straw poll of young voters in a rainstorm

April 17, 2006
The Straits Times

AS THE 2006 General Election draws near, we, a group of senior citizens who were caught in a heavy rainstorm while mountain biking on Pulau Ubin, would like to share some views gathered from a group of young Singaporeans we took shelter with. We believe debate, discussion and feedback will provide a greater diversity of views and strengthen our fledgling democracy.

All six youngsters are the children of heartlanders who are taxi drivers, hawkers, a masseur, a logistics supervisor and a retiree. Their ages range from late 20s to early 30s.

On the first straw-poll question of how they would vote, four out of six said they would unquestioningly vote PAP. Their reason was simple - why fix it when it ain't broke? They also saw the best chance of career advancement lies with PAP rule.

When asked what were the three most important items on their wish list, they responded uniformly with car, condo and cash. None of them owns a credit card and they do not think much about democracy, freedom, justice or the need for an opposition.

Perhaps what is most intriguing is their response to the question of whether they felt obliged to vote PAP as a result of receiving the Progress Package. None of them felt obliged at all. When asked if they would still vote PAP if there was no Progress Package, they all answered 'yes'.

So is it right to conclude that money politics has little influence among the young but it may be a different story among the elderly? That remains to be investigated.

These children of heartlanders living in three- to five-room flats have no doubt they will do better than their parents as most of them are polytechnic graduates.

If called on to defend Singapore in the event of war, they all said they would respond. But they were not so sure they would respond if they were living outside Singapore, say in Australia, when a conflict occurred.

None of them recognised the name of Ms Ho Ching, the Prime Minister's wife. When asked if they discerned differences in the political styles of former prime minister Goh Chok Tong and the current PM, they said Mr Lee Hsien Loong is 'more business-like', while Mr Goh is distinguished by his 'more humble' approach. None of them has attended an election rally, and only one has voted, twice in Jurong GRC.

As the rain grew lighter, it was time to ride to the jetty to catch the bumboat home. We four 'Ah Laus' bade goodbye to the young bikers and pondered our exchange.

Will two-thirds of the electorate continue to vote PAP? Or will the swing vote of the older, retired, retrenched or disgruntled generation make a difference this time round and add a GRC or a new single-member constituency to the opposition? That remains to be seen.

But for the time being, as far as the young are concerned, life is all about making a living and achieving the five Cs, and not about freedom, democracy or the need for an opposition.

Patrick Low Soh Chye